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Channel IQ Introduces 'Trusted Dealer' Authorization Badge

Channel IQ, an online
pricing intelligence and channelmanagement
solutions developer, has
introduced a software system that
provides retailers and products with
instant online authentication.

Using a proprietary process called
real-time dealer verification, the company’s
“instant dealer verification
badge” system authenticates individual
product pages to instantly authorize
the sale of an item. Once approved,
the software renders a verification seal
or badge on the product page, which
helps vendors and retailers verify and
control authentic online product offerings,
and which can instill greater
consumer confidence in product authenticity,
warranty support and dealer
product knowledge, the company said.

The service can also be a boon in
the fight against global gray market
activity and counterfeiting. The latter
costs the global economy more than
$600 billion each year, with the U.S.
facing the bulk of the damage, Channel
IQ said.

In addition, the dealer verification
badge can drive increased conversions
by keeping consumers on the product
pages instead of looking elsewhere to
guarantee the safety of a warranty and
the availability of post-sale support, explained
Channel IQ founder and CEO
Wes Shepherd.

“There have always been seals and
badges for payment processing, postsale
warranties, customer service and
dispute resolution, but there has never
been a third-party system that guarantees
the existence of manufacturer
support for a transaction,” Shepherd
said. “Now consumers will be assured
of the legitimacy of the product,
warranty and manufacturer customer
support. Furthermore, retailers can
provide extra assurance that they
themselves are providing valuable service
outputs to consumers versus just
selling on price.”

Sennheiser is an early supporter of
the badge system, which will be widely
available to manufacturers this quarter.

“We at Sennheiser have taken an
incredibly strong stance against counterfeiting,”
said president Greg Beebe.
“We believe it will support and protect
our legitimate dealers.”

Separately, the company last month
announced that Panasonic had signed
on to use its platform to manage adherence
to the minimum advertised price
(MAP) program in online sales.

Channel IQ said its systems eliminate
the delay in gathering and delivering
critical pricing data encountered when
using internal or third-party monitoring
sources. This will help Panasonic spot
non-compliant discounting in advertisements,
gray market sales and even
counterfeiting, the company said.